The Florida-born musical Menopause The Musical hit Off-Broadway last year and now the hot-flash tuner undergoes "the change" again as a Los Angeles staging starts Oct. 30.

The New York cast of Menopause The Musical

The west coast run of the musical plays at the Coronet Theatre in West Hollywood, opening Nov. 19. TOC Productions and Entertainment Events Inc. present the work.

Michele Mais, Myra McWethy, Rendé Rae Norman and Lisa Robinson will star in the show, directed and choreographed by Patty Bender, who also choreographed the Off Broadway run. Musical and vocal arrangements are handled by C.T. Hollis.

In the show, penned by co-producer Jeanie Linders, a group of women in Bloomingdales talk about the ups and downs of middle age. The show features revised tunes from the '60s and '70s including "I Heard it Through the Grapevine, You'll No Longer See 39," "Chain of Fools" (rewritten as "Change Change Change/ Change of life"), the Bee Gees parody, "Staying Awake, Staying Awake," and "The Husband Sleeps Tonight."

The show which began in Florida — before heading north to New York — has also sprung up stagings in other cities across the United States including Chicago, Norfolk and Ft. Lauderdale. Runs in Washington, DC, Baltimore, Austin, Springfield, St. Paul and New London are currently slated.

The New York run of Menopause transfered to the uptown Playhouse 91, 316 E. 91st Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues), where it currently performs. Tickets are available by calling (212) 307-4100 or (800) 755-4000. *

Asked about the show, 53-year-old Linders told Playbill On-Line (Feb. 1,2002), "The story chronicles the meeting of four women at a lingerie sale; they're all fighting over a black lace bra at Bloomingdales. There's an aging soap star, a power executive, an Iowa housewife with her husband at a convention, and the lost-in-the-60s hippie type. And we've got 28 songs that have been 'relyricked.' It's about memory loss, chocolate binges, night sweats, plastic surgery, not enough sex, too much sex...

"The audience response has been incredible," continued Linders. "There's dancing onstage at the end. Some women even bring props like Rocky Horror — there's a moment in the show when each character pops up with her own anti-depressant, and women in the audience show up with their own pills. After the show we hand out 'You Be The Critic' cards that the audience fills out. We've received responses like, 'Now I know I'm part of a sisterhood,' and 'Where were you 40 years ago?' It's not a theatrical production, it's a women's movement!"

Tickets to Menopause The Musical at the Coronet Theatre, 366 N. La Cienega Blvd. in West Hollywood, CA can be purchased by calling (310) 657-7377 or (213) 480-3232. For more information on the show, visit www.menopausethemusical.com.